Rubies, Sapphires, Black Diamonds and Gold
by alljuststories
Summary: Thorn is red. Saphira is blue. Shruikan is black. Glaedr is gold. The last egg is green. Some of my thoughts on each of the colours. Not really relavant to the books, but I still hope you like it!
1. Rubies

**OK, this is the shortest thing I have ever written. I was just thinking about Thorn and Murtagh when I had this sudden stroke of inspiration. I don't know whether I'm going to write about blue or black yet. Hope you like it! Well, I wouldn't really care if you don't, no offense, but reviews are much appreciated. =)  
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><p>Red. Scarlet. The colour of rubies. The colour of blood.<p>

The Ancient Egyptians say red is bad. Red is the colour of the unfurtile desert; the colour of Seth; of chaos.

The Ancient Chinese say that red is good. It's the colour of luck and happiness. Red clothes, red lanterns, red posters with the word "fu" on them.

Red is the colour of blood. Of madness. Of war. The colour red inspires horror. A room lit by red light seems more ominous than one lit by white. Red eyes are associated with evil. It is hot. Red hot. Unbearably hot. The colour of fury. It is bright. Blindingly bright. The colour one sees behind their eyelids when facing the sun. The colour of violence, bloodshed, and lust.

Yet, red is the colour of wonderful things. So many shades of red, each unique, each special. Deep, dark red, the colour of luxury, of soft, expensive carpet, velvet curtains; the colour of love, of roses and the breasts of robins. Cheerful, flamboyant red, like the plumage of parrots, sending one's thoughts to tropical places with lush, green jungles and sandy white beaches. Bright, scarlet red, the colour of passion, of doing what you love. Bloodred, the colour of glittering rubies and holy berries. Soft, gentle red, of warmth and comfort, of the sunrise and sunset, of a merry fireplace. The first colour in the rainbow.

Red. The colour of horror. Of love.

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><p><strong>Review! Review! Review!<strong>

**Anyways, some other random thoughts:**

**Comparison of Inheritance elves and Twilight vampires:  
>Both are beautiful.<br>Both are strong.  
>Both are fast.<br>Elves don't drink blood.  
>Elves don't glitter in the sun.<br>Elves know magic.  
>Elves have epic fighting skills.<br>Conclusion: Elves win!**


	2. Sapphires

**Hi guys! I'm back! I'v decided to write for the other colours after all! You may have noticed the title change. Scylla's Revenge asked if I could do gold for Glaedr as well. The truth is, I completely forgot about Glaedr. Thanks for reminding me! And thank you for all those wonderful reviews!**

**I'm taking a completely different approach to this one, but I still hope you like it! =)**

**I do not own the Inheritance Cycle and am not feeling very inclined toward Chrisropher Paolini right now. Two years! TWO YEARS!**

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><p>The sky is a vast and seemingly endless stretch of space, beyond the reach of man. We may be able to launch airplanes and satellites into the sky, but we cannot experience the joy of flight, of the wind whipping our faces and tangling our hair, of the strong beat of wings that can take us in whatever direction we please. The sky is ever-changing. Sometimes, dark, dense clouds cover it. Lightning strikes and raindrops the size of blackberries fall in fierce and relentless winds. Other times, snowflakes drift casually from a mass of gray, covering everything below in a blanket of pure, untainted white. At dusk and dawn, glorious colours mix and meld, red, purple, gold, making picturesque patterns near the horizon. But most times, the sky is blue.<p>

Pale blue, nearly white, in the distance. Stronger, brilliant blue, directly above. Forget-me-not blue, dotted with fluffy white clouds, and the sun shining warmly down upon green grass, weeping willows, wildflowers, and a mirror-like lake, on a nice spring day. Azure blue, without a cloud in sight, on a hot summer day, floating in the lake, looking up and daydreaming. Even at night, the sky is blue, a blue so deep it's almost black, dotted with stars and the moon, like diamonds and gold on a bed of velvet. Occasionally, be it day or night, a bird flies past, looking so free, without a care in the world, soaring joyfully under the sky, that I wish to join them and leave behind all my worries.

Under the sky lies the sea. The sea, like the sky, is seemingly endless and bottomless. Like the sky, the sea has many moods, and can change as suddenly as the emotions of you and I. Waves hundreds of meters high, whirlpools kilometres across, and winds ferocious enough to upturn any ship. Yet, no matter how fierce the turmoil on the surface, deep, deep, below, all is always calm and peaceful. There, dwell mysterious creatures of the deep, unknown to us beings bound to land. There, eternal darkness reigns. There, the sun has never cast its bright and warm rays. The water, too, is consumed by the darkness. As we rise, the ocean becomes brighter, clearer. The colour around us shifts from dark blue to murky gray, then to green as we become ever closer to the sun.

On the surface, under the sky, the light seems too bright compared to underwater. At the top and bottom of our planet earth, the surface of the ocean is blue. Deep, dark, fathomless blue, with wrinkles that are waves, reflections of light sparkling and glinting under the sun, until, in the distance, it meets with the sky. A straight, flat, unbreaking line, separating water and air. Above, the light blue of the sky. Below, the navy of the sea. In the tropical seas, the water is turquoise. Blue, mixed with green. At the shallow shelf seas of the tropics, under the water, is a vibrant, different world. Schools of brilliantly coloured fish and fields of coral reefs on a background of crystal clear blue. The coral are of every colour, and in unique shapes, that possess an unreal beauty. The underwater flowers.

The flowers on land, too, are beautiful and colourful, though fragile, things. They possess a beauty unlike any other, of nature at its most beautiful. Most are red, yellow, white, or orange. Blue flowers are rare. Blue orchids are treasured above all others. Bluebells, orchids, roses, hydrangeas are the only ones that are blue which I know by name. However, blue is common in everyday life for us.

The pen I am holding right now is blue. The ink that is on the paper is blue. The screen of the radio-alarm clock on my nightstand is blue. The shirt and jeans I am wearing is blue. My notebook is blue. Dawn washing detergent is blue. I can list so much more… and each of these blues are different. If you pay attention to your surroundings, many more shades of colours will show themselves to you.

Deep below, under the sky, under my feet, under the flowers, even deeper below than the bottom of the ocean, lies rock. Hundreds of different kinds of rock, all looking the same when unpolished, plain and gray, a shadow of its true patterns and colours. Encased within this stone, hidden from view, are gems. Gems of every colour, bloodred rubies, golden topazes, clear, white diamonds, amethysts of royal purple, and of course, blue sapphires. Large, glittering sapphires, casting blue specks of light upon the wall. They rest at the hollow of a queen's neck as a brooch. They glitter upon a lady's chest, finger, or wrist. And they're carved into statues and set into walls within the dwarves' chambers.

Blue is calm and peaceful, but also cold and unforgiving. Blue is not just blue, there are so many different shades of it, and it represents so many things, both good, and bad.

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><p><strong>Please review! PLEASE?<strong>


	3. Black Diamonds

**Hi guys! This chapter is not as satisfactory as I might have hoped, but it's the best I could come up with so far. I've talked more about darkness than I have the colour black...**

**Now I have a bone to pick with you. I've got more than 200 hits, and guess how many reviews I got for my last chapter? Two! Where are you people who have so nicely reviewed the first chapter? =)**

**InkWeaverabc very helpfully pointed out the many mistakes that I have made in my last chapter. Thanks a lot! She also suggested that I should do Greenie as well. I'm not so sure about that. I'll let you know when I update Glaedr's chapter. And I hope there are less mistakes in this one.**

**Um... That's it, I guess... Hope you like the story, and REVIEW!**

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><p> Come. Come with me, into the darkness. Embrace it, journey through it. I dwell in the shadows. Night is my domain. Humans fear me. Come with me, visit my home – darkness.<p>

You are not yet born. Everything around you is dark. You like the darkness. Of course, you wouldn't know that this is darkness. It is the only thing that you have ever experienced. It is also quiet. All sound is muffled. You lie there, in that dark and quiet place, and you are content. Then, all of a sudden, you enter into a completely different world. It's so bright; you have to close your eyes. You are assaulted with sound. Deafening sounds of beeping, buzzing, and big people talking in deep voices. Hands touch you, probe you. It hurts your tender skin. You want to be back in that dark, quiet place. Darkness is your friend then. You don't like it here. And when you don't like something, you do the only thing you can to express it. You cry, surprisingly loud for one so small. You don't like this strange new world, it's too bright, too loud. You long for the blackness and silence that you have become used to.

Let us leave here now, and float through the darkness. Follow me. You cannot see me, because I _am _darkness. I am all around you. I exist in every shadow. Light is my foe, yet I do not resent it. We must be balanced. Such is the nature of light and dark.

Now we are in the ocean, deep, deep under. It is always black down here. Here magnificent, mysterious, grotesque creatures dwell. Small fish, but with rows of long, needle like teeth protruding in a horrible grimace, and lights hanging from their heads, like a lantern. Fish with spikes and whiskers covered in bone hard armour, cackling with electricity. Crustaceans that look like crabs emitting a blue glow, and creatures that look like shell-less lobsters. Red jellyfish in the shape of an UFO, tentacles hanging down, looking for a victim. A nightmare come true.

Come, it will not do to dwell here too long. It is too cold, and too dangerous. Let us go back up. Feel the sun warm your faces, and follow me back to land. Into a cave. The mouth of the cave is large, set into a mountain. The stone is dark gray, stalactites and stalagmites protruding from the ground, like the maws of a giant beast. Beyond that lays cavernous darkness. Do not fear, there is nothing there that will hurt you. Come further in... Darkness surrounds you. Shh. You hear that rustling overhead? They are bats, thousands of them. Like owls, they are nocturnal creatures, and like owls, they have been my friends for a long, long time. Don't wake them. Marvellous creatures, bats. Their strong claws, clinging onto the roof, hanging upside down, never releasing their grip even as they sleep. They're blind, but can still see, whether on the darkest of nights or the brightest of days. Caves... one of my, and their, havens.

Humans fear the darkness and associate it with evil. Dark magic, dark times, dark kings. They have good reason to. A human cannot see in the dark, cannot see the dangers that lurk nearby. Darkness strips from them one of their most important tools, sight, and render them much more vulnerable. We are in an alleyway. It is well past midnight. That young girl there, hurrying along, is a scullery maid returning home from work late. But she probably won't arrive. Look there. Three of the king's soldiers, drunk. She couldn't see them in the darkness, couldn't avoid them. They meet. Let us move away, you cannot do anything about it. She's screaming, but abruptly silenced.

Darkness is a danger to even the strongest of men or dwarves. Deep within the Spine, this foolhardy young man is on a hunting trip. Sleep is lost to him as he lay on the hard earth, looking about, grasping his bow and knife tightly. The pack of wolves appears, unseen and unheard. Another victim to succumb to the spine of Alagaesia.

Because so many of you are defeated in the darkness, it is understandable that humans think it evil. Galbatorix is mad, evil, a tyrant, and, of course, his dragon, Shruikan is black. Yet, need I remind you that Shruikan is innocent, and had his mind twisted by Galbatorix's black magic?

Black connotes sophistication, power, elegance, and modernity. Black is introspected and mysterious. In Japan, black is a colour that represents seniority, nobility, age, and experience, thus the black belt. Black clothing is widely popular and, as a friend once said to me, flattering. The scales of Shruikan, like black diamonds, are sparkling and so full of light, though black absorbs all light.

Now you are ill in bed, and very, very old. The room is dim. Your loved ones gather around your bed. You smile, knowing that you've had a long, full life. You no longer fear death. You close your eyes for the last time, to darkness.

Though I am so feared, I am also your friend. I am with you when you are not even born, and I embrace you as you sink into the void. Light hurts your eyes, but darkness does not.

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><p><strong>OK, now see that button down there? <em>Press it. <em>A review really makes me feel warm inside! Please?**


	4. Gold

**Hey guys! Doing this chapter was hard... I couldn't think of what I could write for gold, so I wrote a poem instead. I'm not really good at poems, but this was the only way I could have used to describe gold. **

**Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews I got for the last chapter! Thank you to Arya Evenstar, TheLunyOne, and Pwettygurl for reviewing so far, and a great many thanks to SimplySupreme, InkWeaverabc, and NormalityIsNonexistant for reviewing every chapter! You all rock!**

**I have decided to do Greenie after all... **

**Review!**

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><p><em>Gold<em>

Every dawn and every dusk  
>At the horizon, so far away<br>Lies a glorious colour  
>The colour of gold<br>In the sun and sky

Gold  
>Glittering, Sparkling<br>Like the scales of Glaedr

Deep inside the tunnel of dwarves  
>Gilded upon a Rider's sword<br>Is a metal  
>A metal called gold<p>

Gold  
>Precious, rare<br>Like the scales of Glaedr

Looking into the eyes of love  
>Into those eyes as green as gems<br>So deep and wise and full of time  
>Are flecks of gold<p>

Gold  
>Radiant, entrancing<br>Like the scales of Glaedr

High on a tree and low on the earth  
>Perch animals wearing satin-like fur<br>And intelligent black eyes  
>Golden fur, golden squirrels<br>So nimble and quick

Gold  
>Warm, soft<br>Like the scales of Glaedr

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><p><strong>This chapter's AN is as long as the chapter itself... oops =)<strong>

**Please review and feel free to point out any problems:)**

**By the way, this is sort of Eragon's point of view, which is why "the eyes of love" are green, which are actually Arya's eyes. **


	5. Emeralds

**AN: This is it. The big one. The one we've all been waiting for. The last chapter. :D **

**Anyways, sorry for not updating for so long. I've felt so uninspired, and what with school starting and tons of homework and all that crap. **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>How would one describe a colour? It is very difficult. You could use a combination of feelings, smells, tastes, sounds, and pictures to describe a colour. Just barely. And I will attempt this impossible task. With the colour green.<p>

Green is refreshing, cool. Not the icy coolness of blue, but something warmer, invigorating. Like jumping into a pool on a hot summer day.

It tastes like mint. No, not mint. Something less sharp, less strong. Like mint chocolate. Cool and sweet. And slightly bitter. Bittersweet. Mint dark chocolate. Or sour, like green apples.

Smell... green smells like freshly mown grass. Like moist, black, earth. Like spring rain. And like the gentle fragrance of tea, without milk or sugar.

The sound of trickling water, rustling leaves, and playful breezes. Of the drip-drip-drip of water in a dark, mossy cave. Tinkling laughter, of children playing on a field of grass. That is what green sounds like.

A sea of green, as far as the eye could see. A meadow, a blooming flower. Prairies dotted with daisies and pansies, petunias and lilies. An ocean of green, a large stretch of forest, never ending, seen from a bird's eye. The sparkling radiance, the swirling depths, of an emerald. The smooth, cool, surface, the deep, rich green, underlying the web of milky white veins of a dragon egg. Like living marble. Just waiting.

Green, the colour of life. An oasis in the middle of a desert, a safe haven. A patch of life and activity amidst the dry, dead, sand. A sprout blooming in a patch of dry earth. Green. Life.

How to describe this colour? You can never fully comprehend the marvel that is green until you have seen its many shades yourself.

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><p><strong>And so ends the fic. It's my first completed fanfiction, even though it's my last to publish! :P <strong>

**I just want to say thank you to all you readers and reviewers. I hope you have enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I have another Inheritance idea brewing in my mind, but I think I will go back to my poor abandoned Harry Potter fic for now :D. **

**Special thanks to SimplySupreme, InkWeaverabc, NormalityIsNonexistant, Arya Evenstar, TheLunyOne, and Pwettygurl for the reviews! **

**Stay tuned!**


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